Chapter 864: Chapter Fifty-Four: Asura, the Mara Prince

Cao Cao Xuanwei used the ancient bronze sparrow to seal the Great Sun Tathagata, but was abruptly pulled back to consciousness when disturbed by the Demon of the Womb during his ascent to Daoist Yangshen.

He saw Brother Qian Chen leaning close to the golden body's ear, emitting a rustling sound like countless whispers.

The voice was low, as if from the deepest silence of darkness—unnoticed sounds: bones grinding, organs writhing, dust falling, ghostly murmurs—all merging into something strange and inexplicable.

Cao Cao Xuanwei's gaze sharpened, hesitant and doubtful: "Yu Jiuyou demonic speech?"

Tan Tan Wuchen nodded slightly; Cao Cao Xuanwei asked: "Master, how much did you understand?"

"Yu Jiuyou demonic speech was born in the darkness of Yu Jiuyou, the most evil and mysterious tongue. Legend says even a single phrase can exorcise ghosts and purify filth, for all spirits and demons fallen into the Youming fear the demonic gods of Yu Jiuyou—upon hearing this speech, they flee three leagues!"

Tan Tan Wuchen explained: "During the Three Divine Dynasties of antiquity, the Wu Dao often studied demonic speech to intimidate ghosts and gods, commanding Yu Jiuyou's demonic entities."

"But since the Daoist sects rose to prominence and the Jade Emperor established the Heavenly Court, with all beings assigned their proper places, people gradually ceased using Yu Jiuyou demonic speech to communicate with spirits, turning instead to talismans to reach Heaven…"

"After all, Yu Jiuyou is filled with demonic gods, evil gods, and old deities—touching them brings ill fortune!"

Tan Tan Wuchen added for Brother Qian Chen's benefit: "In our Buddhist tradition, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have vowed to liberate Yu Jiuyou and establish the cycle of rebirth, so this demonic speech still survives among us. Alas, my lineage, the Nirvana Masters, cultivates purity and extinction, attaining enlightenment through Nirvana—we are not skilled in this art."

He listened intently as Brother Qian Chen spoke to the golden body, then explained: "It seems this senior brother is asking the Yu Jiuyou demonic entity within about its demonic title."

Tan Tan Wuchen, hearing Brother Qian Chen's harsh, threatening Yu Jiuyou demonic speech, frowned: "The title… is Mahakala? Great Darkness? No… perhaps Yuan'an? Also wrong? Mahadeva… Yama? Great Heaven… Yama… Mara."

"Great Heavenly Demon!"

"That title is Great Heavenly Demon—the primordial Great Darkness, emissary of the Lord of Yu Jiuyou!"

"Buddha!" Tan Tan Wuchen turned pale: "Little Murong Chui is the Great Heavenly Demon… so it was him all along…"

Cao Cao Xuanwei was stunned. Many knew Little Murong Chui was the Great Heavenly Demon; though the lineage was hidden in the Central Lands, as Crown Prince of Wei, he understood the weight of this ancient title.

"What do you mean 'Great Heavenly Demon is Great Heavenly Demon'?"

Tan Tan Wuchen, flustered, muttered in Sanskrit; only then did Cao Cao Xuanwei catch the meaning.

"Little Murong Chui is one of the leaders of the demonic path; the Han people call him Great Heavenly Demon."

"But Supreme Tian Mo are common—'Great Heavenly Demon' can mean leader of the Supreme Tian Mo! Yet in Sanskrit, 'Great Heavenly Demon' and 'Great Heavenly Demon' are not the same: the Sanskrit term refers to Mahadevarāja… meaning Great Primordial Darkness Emissary!"

"You people of the Central Lands name things recklessly!"

"In Yu Jiuyou, the Asuras are Supreme Tian Mo, Mara are Supreme Tian Mo, Manas are Supreme Tian Mo—know this: Yu Jiuyou holds infinite races, yet the Central Lands lump all beings beyond the Form Realm and the Six Desire Heavens under the name Supreme Tian Mo!"

Tan Tan Wuchen, in his panic, even spat out the dialect of the Lion Kingdom of Xizhou.

"So I always assumed 'Great Heavenly Demon' meant leader of the demonic path—this is what the Central Lands' Buddhist schools always told me: that Great Heavenly Demon is the leader of Yu Jiuyou's demonic sect, passed down through generations. But this translation is wrong—it should be called Yu Jiuyou's Primordial Darkness Emissary? No, it should be called Fa Yuan'an!"

At this moment, Tan Tan Wuchen recalled his old trade as a translator and defined the term "Great Heavenly Demon" in Central Lands characters.

One must admit, Tan Tan Wuchen was deeply versed in Buddhist sutras, Sanskrit, and Han classics.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao Xuanwei and Li Zhong exchanged glances and spoke in unison: "The Shi Hui Master governs the Ten Hui, observing omens, discerning auspicious and inauspicious signs: one is Jin, two is Xiang, three is He Jian, four is He Jian, five is An, six is Meng, seven is Mi, eight is Xu, nine is Ji, ten is Xiang!"

This quote is from the Zhouli's "Spring Official"—the Guanmang's office!

And the Ten Hui… are the Ten Hui Methods.

Ten Hui (Ten Hui) refer to ten distinct types of solar radiance—the ten laws of Haotian. Among the Ten Hui Methods, the fifth is An, meaning solar eclipse!

"Fa Yuan'an means 'Law of Primordial Darkness.' If 'Fa' truly refers to Haotian's law, then 'Yuan' is Yuan Qi from the Primordial, Original, Beginning Three Qi, and 'An' means darkness, absence of light."

"If interpreted as humanity emulating Heaven," Li Zhong hesitated, "then it means imitating Yuan'an…"

Cao Cao Xuanwei disagreed: "Fa Yuan'an is merely one translation. Master Tan Tan Wuchen already said it means 'Yu Jiuyou's Primordial Darkness Emissary.' Here, 'Fa' should mean authority—once, Haotian held the Ten Hui Methods, wielding authority over the ten solar radiance."

Tan Tan Wuchen interrupted urgently: "Regardless, the Great Heavenly Demon is not the leader of the demonic path, but an emissary, a subordinate, of some great darkness—the primordial source of Yu Jiuyou!"

"And it is he who bestows this authority!"

Li Zhong drew his blade horizontally, glaring menacingly at the panicked Tan Tan Wuchen: "Regardless of the true meaning of 'Great Heavenly Demon,' or whether some Yu Jiuyou demonic ancestor or other great power lies behind it—for countless generations, the Central Lands' Great Heavenly Demon has passed from one to the next, and no chaos has arisen!"

"We should remain still, observe, and wait for change!"

Under Li Zhong's blade, though Cao Cao Xuanwei did not understand why Li Zhong trusted Brother Qian Chen so utterly, he could only suppress his unease.

Originally, Cao Cao Xuanwei had trusted Brother Qian Chen somewhat—but after his Daoist Yangshen breakthrough was interrupted, he sensed, faintly, that he had been used as bait.

That was why he cared so much about Brother Qian Chen's questioning with Yu Jiuyou demonic speech…

Brother Qian Chen paid them no mind.

Little Murong Chui's primordial demonic thought descended, transforming the golden body's vessel: from the Moon Demon's mere hair-thin influence, now elevated to a finger of the limb, and with this primordial thought's arrival, it became an "outer self"—a complete face, a full visage.

Using the Moon Demon's Skin-Stealing Method to strip this face away would not kill Little Murong Chui, but it could sever one of his most vital external anchors.

After Asura exposed his identity, he fell silent briefly, then spoke in the purest Yu Jiuyou demonic speech, tone laced with threat: "Who I am matters little. But now that the Great Heavenly Demon's title has been revealed, your chance to seize this avatar is gone—can you truly accept that?"

The Moon Demon Zangshan Laozu spoke coldly: "So what if one opportunity is lost?"

"You are not one of our Yu Jiuyou demons…"

"Hmm, but your accent is flawless—surely not that monk from outside, the one who wears skins? No, those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas reborn in Xizhou, even if fluent in Yu Jiuyou demonic speech, still carry an odor they cannot detect—unlike you, so fallen, so pure, so destructive!"

"Outsider, you cannot comprehend our Yu Jiuyou gods' and demons' perspective. This mortal world is merely our playground. Our true bodies dwell in Yu Jiuyou, casting thoughts across the heavens, seizing creation to nourish our cultivation."

"Perhaps you think our struggles are fierce, but in Yu Jiuyou, peace reigns—we contend only through demonic thought, never through slaughter."

"We never ally with outsiders or betray our Yu Jiuyou kin. Though the Great Heavenly Demon dwells in the Earth Immortal Realm, He is still our kin—do you understand?"

Yu Jiuyou is peaceful?

Brother Qian Chen sneered. In his mind lurked the Xuanzhen Taiyi Demon Zangshan Laozu—the very ancestor of your demons—whose greatest dream is to destroy everything, including you.

This is peace?

It is merely Yu Jiuyou's ancient, settled equilibrium!

Brother Qian Chen swore: give them the chance, and they'd betray each other without a moment's hesitation.

"This Moon Demon is hiding something—he doesn't know I possess supreme demonic wisdom, and know every detail of Yu Jiuyou's demonic host!"

So Brother Qian Chen shifted tone: "Moon Demon, I know you want to peel Little Murong Chui's skin too! But to strip him, the Great Heavenly Demon's title is the hardest nail to pull out—you've been waiting for Little Murong Chui to slip for a long time, haven't you?"

"We can cooperate…"

"What I seek is utterly different from yours."

The Moon Demon Zangshan Laozu replied coldly: "Zangshan Laozu dwells comfortably in Yu Jiuyou—why would I go peel the skin of some mortal cultivator? Stop your nonsense…"

Brother Qian Chen cackled: "Moon Demon Zangshan Laozu, I've watched you for a long time! Otherwise, why would this trap target the sect master of the Earth Immortal Realm's Moon Demon Sect?"

Asura, the unknown prince of the Mara clan, roared: "Who are you? Why impersonate me?"

Brother Qian Chen threatened him: "I know who you are. You don't know who I am—and yet you dare provoke me? Boy, in Yu Jiuyou, strength rules. I am Asura!"

Saying this, Brother Qian Chen drew from his Dust Pearl the Celestial Emperor's Dragon-Empowered Pill.

Asura's demonic essence surged into the vessel, leaving the true Asura stunned.

The demons murmured: "I recognize Asura's aura—and his Danjie Dao Fruit. It is truly him!"

"Asura, you seek to steal my Dao Seed—bold indeed…" a voice murmured. "But you chose the wrong target! I am no being you petty Yu Jiuyou demons dare covet!"

The Demon of the Womb devoured ninety-nine percent of the demons, leaving only a dozen preserved by the aura of the Dao Fruit.

It opened its eyes—within them burned Little Murong Chui's desire to conquer all, his ambition to encompass everything.

"Little Murong Chui!" Brother Qian Chen stood in reality, arms crossed behind his back, behind the golden body's portrait, speaking calmly: "Do you dare lay claim to the Conquest Dao Seed? You think staying in the Earth Immortal Realm frees you from us? But Supreme Tian Mo stealing Dao is the tribulation of all creation—your Conquest Dao Seed is no exception!"

"I, Asura, began plotting against you the very day you were defeated by the Supreme Louguan Sect, a thousand years ago."

"The Conquest Dao Seed belongs only to me, Asura. You, a mere mortal demon, have done your best to condense it. To conquer all heavens and worlds—that is ambition beyond you. Only I, Asura, shall slay three thousand Mara princes and ascend as the sole king. I shall begin in Yu Jiuyou, conquer all heavens and worlds… with the Conquest Dao Seed, perfect my Dao Fruit, and become the Celestial Emperor!"